Beacon
by tateria
Summary: "They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way." Clark's destiny lays in front of him, to be the beacon to humanity. My version of Superman's story.
1. Takeoff

_"They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way..."_

From up here in space the silence is almost deafening, Clark thought.

He was floating on the sun side of the Goldstar-1 satillite, watching the world below. Clark had observed years ago that from there, if he didn't look too close, the world seemed peaceful, quiet, and calm. Once he had discovered he could fly out of the atmosphere without harm he would come up here to get away from the constant barrage of his super senses.

Glancing down to check the time at the First National Bank clock across the street from the Daily Planet, Clark saw his time up here was almost up. It was time to begin his life in Metropolis, and on the world stage. His birth father had meant for him to lead these people, not through force, but by guidance, to be a beacon to move beyond the petty problems they mired themselves in. It was a heavy mantle, one that had taken him many years to accept, and then train for. But that was over, and now it was time to begin.  
Scanning quickly to make sure no surveillance was watching, Clark accelerated down towards the growing mass of concrete and steel that was Metropolis. The gleaming city on the ocean made for a scenic flight as he lowered himself from the sky to sea level and then accelerating until he was going just faster than most humans could discern. Raising higher as he approached land, he flew through the canyon of skyscrapers, turning to follow Interstate-14 as it followed the city's boundary with the ocean until he reached downtown, the skyscrapers giving way to the older, shorter buildings and Founders Park. On one end of the park was the courthouse, an ancient relic in memory of classic 1930's architecture. At the other end, beyond the shops and tourist attractions, and at the edge of the skyscrapers and modern Metropolis was the iconic building of the Daily Planet, it's rotating globe atop it gleaming in the morning sun coming off the ocean.

Landing discretely on the roof, Clark changed into his human clothes, storing his suit in the compartment he had serrupticiously put into the globe above the building. As he prepared to enter the building, he finally noticed the scent of perfume and burnt tobacco. A woman had been up here recently to sneak a cigarette, a note Clark filed to remember for when he was coming and going between his future lives. He stopped and looked down, finding the newsroom, the bullpen bustling and Perry White's office just off and above it. There was people coming and going, and off to the side there sat an empty desk, his name spelled "Clark Knet" on the handwritten note. His worries about trying to get away with being low key and forgettable seemed to have been included with his resume, it seems.

The ride to the eighth floor was uneventful, in so much as he managed to make himself look uncomfortable and shy such that no one bothered to even say anything to him. All the better, Clark thought. Entanglements would just make living his double life harder. People who got close might see through his simple disguise, and then they could be put in danger, or worse someone coud connect the alien savior with Clark Kent, and then find his parents. He knew his arrival would only cause some panic in the worlds governments and he hoped to ease it into his role, but at the same the people he loved, who had taken him in as a small infant, he had to protect them from the spotlight he was preparing to step into.

"KENT!"

Clark's head jumped up, partially in jumping out of his thoughts, but mostly in an attempt to seem startle-able to the older man now standing in front of his open glass office door.

"It's about time you got here! I was getting ready to send the search parties out for you!" the gruff Chief Editor bellowed.

"Gosh Chief, I thought I was supposed to be here at 9:30!" Be the farmboy, be the farmboy, Clark reminded himself.

While he hadn't been the social butterfly in high school and college, he had never been overly shy. Growing up it had taken his parents a short time to discover their new charge was indestructible, and so Clark had grown up with little fear, only learning later in life as his other abilities had manifested the importance of being circumspect about himself and his abilities.

"Every damned time I hire someone, they're always here an hour early! Always making everyone drop everything because they can't arrive when they're told!" Mr. White grumped as he showed Clark into his office, which was large and had a wonderful view of the harbor.

"I guess it's just what my parents taught me, to show up punctually. I couldn't help notice my name is misspel.."

"So you don't think the early bird gets the worm? I need reporters with drive, and ambition! Just because you write beautiful prose doesn't mean your spot will last if you can't bring in the big stories! You got drive, Kemp?"

"Uhm.. Kent, Sir. Yes, sir. I'm really looking forwar.."

"Well, I'm sure there's going to be a shock coming from that small town paper to the big city, Kemp, so I'm going to put you with my best reporter. She could use to have someone with her who has actually looked at a grammar book as more than a paperweight. Sound good, Kemp?"

"Er... Kent, sir. I've never had a partner before, but I'll do my best for you, Mr. White."

"That's great, Kemp."

"Ken.. " Clark sighed. Invisible, he needed to be invisible. Something that was going to be a welcome change soon, Clark was certain. Perry huffed and rose from his chair, leading him out and down into the bullpen. "LANE! Where's Lane at?" Perry stalked towards Clark's desk, looking around for his errant reporter.

"She's off looking into that story for next magazine cover section, Chief" cried a voice from the far side of the bullpen behind a cubicle wall. Clark peered through the wall to see the owner of the voice. He was a young man, around 20, who was cleaning his telescopic lenses for the camera that sat on his desk, uploading to the desktop computer.

"Great Ceaser's Ghost, the woman never listens. Well, Kemp, here's your desk. I'll send HR over to get the paperwork finished and then we can see about getting you caught up with your new partner. And don't call me 'Chief'!"

-2-

"So you were driving along the I-14 coming home from work when this happened?"

"Yes, Ms. Lane. I was driving and getting ready to take my exit. I'm a good driver, but it was raining, and I just didn't see the van until it pulled right in front of me, so I panicked and swerved to miss the van, but I was so worried about the van I didn't even notice there was no road next to me Next thing I know I'm halfway through the barrier and my car is hanging over the edge. I remember thinking I was going to die."

Julia Longos leaned back, breathing out slowly, the adrenaline of remembering the accident again causing her obvious distress. She hadn't told this story much, because outside of the few people who had witnessed it, and the first responders, no one believed her, and most just laughed at her. Part of the timid womans adrenaline was now fueled by the fear of being made fun of in the paper by the rising star of the Daily Planet, Lois Lane.

Ms. Lane was almost famous for her drive to get a story, getting into many close scrapes with the law and the lawless, including a recent incident with the Mayor. Well, ex-Mayor. But Julia hoped that if she could convince The Lois Lane, perhaps people might take her overly sensational story seriously.

"It's funny, you know," Julia continued, "I put the car in reverse. I don't even think any of the tires were touching ground then, but I was just screaming and panicking. I had floored the pedal, for all the good it did. My car was just rocking, not really moving, and I really thought for a second that I might actually survive." Taking a large breath, and slowly exhaling, Julia paused, eyes wet as she looked Ms. Lane right in the eyes. "So of course that's when the other car hits me and I go off the ramp. I don't know if it was just shock, or the feeling of falling, but suddenly the world slowed down. I watched as my car tipped forward, and I looked out and saw this little boy as he watched my car plunge. I couldn't look away, knowing his life would forever be ruined watching this happen."

Julia paused again, wiping the lone tear that had fallen down her face. Sipping her tea, she composed herself, and for the first time since she had begun telling her story, Julia's green eyes lit up as a small smile graced her face.

"That's when it happened. I felt the car slow down, and I thought at first it was hitting and I was still in slow motion, but then I realized I was still off the ground. I just remember being in a daze as I slowly came to the ground, and suddenly... " Julia's small smile grew into a full faced grin as the memory replayed in her head again.

Suddenly HE was there. I thought I was dreaming. He was holding my car. With his bare hands. And he set the car down. And all I could do was look at his eyes. They were so gentle and kind. And... well, have you heard what he looks like?"

Lois smiled playfully, and nodded. "I've heard he's quite handsome."

Julia laughed.

"Well, when someone saves your life they're already wonderful. But he was just... unbelievable. I really thought I had a dream, or was hallucinating, or something. But then I heard this odd sound from far away as he approached my door, which I realized was clapping. The people who had been watching were clapping. Somehow they had forgotten that he had caught a car with his bare hands."

"He opens my car door, which had been jammed shut the firemen told me, and asks me if I was ok. All I could do was nod at him, like I was five again. God, how embarrasing! And he smiles at me, tells me the police are almost there, and then he.. well, I guess having caught a car, I should have been ready for anything, but he... " Julia's eyes glazed over as her head tilted while she tried to figure out how explain.

Lois knew what was coming, and said softly "...and thats when he flew off?"

"Yeah.. " Julia said, almost dreamily. "You'd think that people wouldn't believe me when I say he caught me in midair in my car, but this is where most people laugh at me. Are you going to make fun of me in your article, Ms. Lane?"

Lois shook her head. "No. You're not alone, Julia. Whoever this man is.. he's..."

"Super," Julia said. "He's just amazing. I just want to say thank you to him, and I don't know how. Will you say that in your article? Please?"

Smiling, Lois nodded. Looking down at her pad, she slowly underlinded the word she had written down.

"_Super_"


	2. Impenetrable

"So ya' see Miss Lane, I was over there, on my knees with this over muscled goon pointing this gun in my face. I was so scared. My family needs me still, ya know. Mom's not doing good, it's her heart. Kids are in high school. And my wife, I knew this was what she was always afraid would happen. I've been in this business my whole life, ya know? This was my Father's store, and his Father's, just off the boat. We've sold jewlery here since before the skyscrapers took over the skyline, so I couldn't let my family down. But ... it all looks so different when you're staring down the barrel of that gun. All I wanted to do was ... I just wanted to go home to my family, ya know?"

Joe Katz seemed smaller than his six foot two frame would lead you to believe while telling his story to Lois Lane. Sitting behind his desk in the office of his family jewelry store "Katz & Sons" (which Joe had remarked to be the cause of his wife bearing all girls), he shoulders had slouched as he told of what he obviously felt was the lowest point of his manhood, being forced to his knees at gunpoint as men destroyed cases that his family had built up over a hundred years of being in business.

Lois nodded, waiting paitently for him to go on. While she had certainly earned her nickname "Bulldog Lane", she had also learned that sometimes you get more with a gentle touch. Her black hair framed her face as her green eyes soflty looked at the jeweler. The mystery person who seemed to be everywhere and nowhere for the past two months was becoming increasingly hard to ignore, which is how she had come to be assigned to the story.

At first she had resisted, hard nosed at the idea of pursuing a urban legend. But Perry resisted, his old school reporting senses smelling a story in the rumors. He leaped buildings in a single jump, or fly - the stories were sometimes inconsistent. He was faster than the new bullet-train going north to Mega City, some saying he was almost a blur. No one knew what he actually looked like because he was always gone before anyone could come to their senses to take a picture, no matter how much Perry bullied poor Jimmy Olsen to try.

Add to it the story she was now tracking down from a police contact of hers. Officer Johnson was a veritable goldmine of information, but that was mostly because he was a giant horndog who thought he had a chance of a date, or probably more. Unfortunately for him, well for Lois anyways, he was pig - and Lois had standards. Her sister liked to say they were impossible for any man to meet, but then again, her sister was also in the middle of her second divorce, so Lois didn't let that bother her much.

Joe cleared his throat and looked up. "I'm sorry - where was I, Miss Lane?"

"Your knees. The gun. Is that when HE showed up?"

Joe nodded slowly. "Yeah, exactly. Mr. Muscle-bound was getting antsy when there was a new voice in the store who was just ... floating there, like on strings, ya know?" Lois shook her head. "And then he goes in this soft but firm voice... and I think I laughed, because it was just so ... weird. He goes.. 'I don't think that setting will match your outfit.' He's FLOATING IN THE AIR and he says that to them! Oh, I just laughed. I think it was all the adrenaline in my system."

"So then Muscles turns and fires at the guy as he's there in the air ... and the bullets just bounce off him. And you know what he does?! He just glances down at where they hit, and then his eyes come up to meet the dumb jock, and he grins, like he knows a secret. Next thing I know there's a blur, and the four thugs are tied up in the center of my store. And he .. ya know, lands, picks up the bag they were putting my jewels in, hands it me. And he smiles, tells me the police are thirty seconds away. He nods, and walks out the door. Just walks, ya know, like it's just another day for him. I've heard the story, Miss Lane, but until that moment he was floating in my shop, I didn't believe them. But he saved my life, I know it."

Joe's eye watered again, and he smiled. Picking up the picture on his desk of Joe, a proud smile in the picture, and his wife and daughters around him, he pointed to the family in the frame. "He saved them from something horrible. I can't thank him enough for that."

-2-

Perry read over the newest parts of the Urban Legend story. Lois' work was as always in-depth and thorough, but he knew that until last week her heart hadn't been in the article. At first she thought it beneath her, and then it was simply a stupid story. But after twenty interviews with first person accounts, she had become a believer. In what was the question she obviously had now. Who was this mystery man, and besides stopping flying cars, armed robberies, car jackings, and rescuing cats in trees, what did he want?

Where did he come from?

Why was he in Metropolis?

What's the story?

Handing back the pages to his rising star, he grinned as he sat down.

"It's good, Lois, very good. But you're not there yet. What's the story, besides that he's very civic minded?" Perry glanced at Clark, who was standing back, watching the discussion. "What's your take on him, Kemp?"

Perry had figured out from the first time that he had met him in person that there was more to Clark Kent that the quiet, shy man you saw in front of him. Just reading the solid prose and strong writing was enough to tell him that. He'd seen hundreds of young hotshots with ego's larger than Texas come and go who couldn't write to save their life. But Clark had a knack for finding the human element in his stories, even the mundane crap Perry was throwing at him. He needs to step up, and Perry will figure out how to make that happen, even if he has to call him the wrong name until he retires.

He can see he's right every time he calls him 'Kemp', because there's this moment of correction, before he catches himself. Perry knows the real Kent is not far below, and when he comes out, what a reporter he'll be.

Lois had, of course, fought this partnership, almost as much as she had the Mystery Man story. But it had been good for them both. He kept her on her toes, and she pushed him around more than he wanted to let her, but he kept rolling over. Once he breaks out of his shell, the two could be a newswriting powerhouse.

If they didn't kill each other first, Perry thought.

"Kemp? What do you think?"

"Uhh.. well... It seems to me that he is just trying to do good. Maybe he is just trying to keep a low profile, not cause a scene. People are going to freak out when a guy is just ... " Kent shrugged and made his hand do a rough flying motion and making a soft 'whoosh' sound, before turning the hand up to push his oversized glasses up his nose.

Sighing, Perry looked at Lois before nodding them out of his office. He might crack before Kent does, Perry lamented.

Lois had barely gotten out of earshot of Perry's office when she wheeled her slender frame around and stuck a finger into Clark's chest. In her three inch heels, she was still several inches shorter than him, but the cold, hard glare she aimed at him more than made up for any height distance they might have had.

"Whoosh? Really, Smallville, you gotta do better than that with the Chief. He wants.. words! Not sound effects! I swear, you're going to be the death of my career, Smallville."

Lois turned on her heel and stormed off.

Jimmy Olsen, whom had become something of a shadow to Clark since his first day, patted him on the back. "She'll come around, you know. She just doesn't like new people. Or partners."

"Or new people who are her partner?" Clark asked while watching Lois stalk back to her desk in the bullpen. He turned to look at Jimmy, who just shrugged and walked off.

"You coming, Smallville? We got more people to interview! Perry says I can't keep ditching you. So let's go, one more and then I can try to put this thing to bed before my deadline."

-3-

Lois walked out of Joe's office and saw Clark interviewing Mrs. Katz, listening and nodding while writing in his notepad. For being such a cardboard personality, she did have to give Kent credit, he could write. His articles always seemed to get the emotion of the story, which Lois had never focused on because while she was not unsympathetic, when you grow up on the base being the General's Daughter, you learn to distance yourself from others, and you also learn how to bend the rules to get what you want. She knew Ashe may not be there best human interest reporter, but she was the best investigative reporter because she was relentless.

Kent was obviously finishing up, he was thanking her and shaking her hand. As they walked out the store into the late afternoon sun, they walked back towards the Planet, it's golden orb shining in the distance.

Clark had noticed that Lois had been quiet since her interview with Mr. Katz. He also knew that whatever was going on her head wouldn't be easily pried from the steel trap that was Lois's private thoughts. He'd been with her for the whole week, and hadn't learned anything he hadn't found online. Hired by Perry before she had graduated. Almost died twice already in her 28 years, once while on a story. The famous father, and their estrangement that was only made worse when she had uncovered a history of cover ups at the Air Force base. The two Pulitzers - before she was 25.

But this was the first time he'd seen her seem truly withdrawn, as if thinking something over. She stopped, looking up to the sky. Clark stepped ahead a few steps then turned and waited for the thought that was bubbling up to the surface to express itself.

"Do you think he's out there right now? Saving someone else?"

It came out as a whisper, so soft he wasn't certain that if he didn't have super hearing he would have heard it.

Clark stood with her for another minute, then slowly turned allowing the sunlight to bathe his face in long shadows, waiting for her to catch up.

"You know Lois, I'm sure he's around. It sounds like you never know when, ah ... he will show up." Clark added the flying hand motion from earlier, which did the trick of breaking her out of her trance. Rolling her eyes, she increased her pace, leaving him behind.

"You're such a geek, Smallville."


	3. Freefall

Eric Landry was overworked.

He'd been overworked for many years, and everyone around him knew it. He'd been putting in his 9 to 5 for twelve years, and was the longest serving 'cubicle drone' (a term he liked to use on his annual reviews just to annoy the young 'bosses' he kept having to deal with.) But with the constant turnover at the office, he was always the one being left to do the lions share of the work. Not that his pay ever reflected all his work and dedication to the company, nor did any of the newer employees give him any respect.

Eric had stopped to get his daily 2 pm coffee. It was the little things that were important, he had read that once somewhere. Probably one of those damned things his wife was always buying for the walls. As he sat down in his rundown chair with the squeaky wheels that he couldn't get maitenance to fix.

It was always something around here. Glancing at his monitor, he saw there was a new email from his corporate email, which was odd. No one ever emailed him on the corporate email.

Leaning forward, Eric went to sip the fresh coffee as the email opened.

He barely noticed when the mug dropped from his hands, and noticed even less when it shattered on the floor. When he glanced away from the email, his face flushed, he noticed that the largest shard of ceramic was the "Best Dad Ever" text.

-2-

"Patches was stuck in the tree. I had been calling and calling, but Patches just was too scared. I started crying too. And then the man came and got Patches down."

Lois really didn't do kids. It always took too long to get to the point, and the attention span. But Perry thought this would make for a good photo insert for the all but finished article. Lois almost wished she hadn't ditched Clark at the office.

Almost.

"What did the man look like, sweetie?" Lois caught the way the girl, young Mandy Wilson, took to Jimmie more than her. For all their annoying habits, kids were fairly observant about adults, Lois had learned.

"He was tall, and nice. He flew up to Patches and brought him right to me. He told me Patches was a very handsome cat." Mandy hugged the purring ball of fur close as Jimmy took several shots of the girl, cat, and the tree in question. Jimmy was finishing the last shots when his head peaked up above his camera and smiled. Lois rolled her eyes as she knew that goofy smile meant that Jimmy's pseudo-big brother had managed to catch up.

Turning to face the quiet shadow she had been stuck with, she arched an eyebrow in his direction.

"Nice of you to join us, Smallville, now that we're all but done." Nodding to the small child, she continued. "Clark, meet Amanda. Aman.."

"Mandy, my name is Mandy." Lois seemed to remember the girl saying something like that before. She sighed, gave her biggest smile she could fake, and continued.

"Right, Mandy, this is my partner, Clark."

Mandy turned to look at Clark while still holding Patches. As Clark approached and bent down to offer his hand to the young girl, a sudden look of shock crossed her face as Patches fell to the ground. The small feline scampered back to the house as Mandy slowly took Clarks hand and shook it, the instant of shock turning to mild confusion. Lois found it odd, since she had always pictured the quiet country boy to be a natural with kids.

"It's nice to meet you, Mandy."

Mandy simply nodded and then looked from Lois to Jimmy, and then back to Clark, as if trying to put a puzzle together with too many peices. Kids, Lois thought to herself, always a waste of time.

"Okay, Jimmy, you good?" The young photog gave Lois the thumbs up, reviewing his shots on his camera and beginning to walk back to the car.

"Well, Ama..Mandy," Lois was using her sweetest voice, ready to finish this up. "It was really nice to meet you. Thank you for talking to us today." For her part, Mandy was still staring at Clark. She finally nodded, looked briefly at Lois, and then ran back to her Mom, who was watching from the girls front porch.

The pair of reporters turned to walk down the sidewalk towards the car parked down the block. Of course Lois had driven over, because Lois couldn't handle someone else's driving. They didn't understand how to drive in the city. You had a destination, and you knew how to get there, and if the other drivers got in your way, you just get around them. Why other people didn't understand that, Lois may never understand.

Approaching her car, she looked around for another car. "Hey Smallville, where's your car at?"

"Oh.. I .. uhh.. took the bus, Lois."

Rolling her eyes, she keyed the fob of her car to unlock the gleaming black car. How someone could stutter over public transportation was beyond her. She was never going to let Perry forget this.

-3-

Eric's hands wouldn't stop shaking. He didn't know what to do, but he knew that he had no choice. The Voice seemed to know his every move inside the old building. Wiping his forehead again, Eric approached the large windows of the old Forsyth Building. The Voice had been specific about which window to go to.

Turning the latches on the window he pushed the old glass out, the old hinges creaking loudly. Pulling a chair over, he stepped up and onto the sill, standing up and walking tentatively out onto the ledge of the building. As he escaped the window framing, the wind suddenly hit him, causing him to panic and grab hold of the stone wall outside the sixth floor.

He remembered they always said not to look down, but thinking that made him look down, and he turned to go back in. That's The Voice resurfaced again.

"Eric, if you want your family to live, you need to go out there. No one will be hurt, all you have to do is walk out the corner and wait. That's all you have to do to see your family again." It was an eirie digital voice, inside the ear piece that had been where the email had said it would be. The email with the picture of his family bound and gagged.

Eric breathed out a ragged breath, and slowly began to slide along the ledge down the twenty feet distance to the corner. He thought back to the mug, still broken under his desk.

_Best Dad Ever_

-4-

"He needs a name, Lois. Every great legend needs a name! Bigfoot, Nessie, and the like! And if we're the one to get the name that sticks, he's ours!"

"Great, Chief. What do you want to call him? Mystery Flying Man?"

"Oh for goodness sakes, Lois, that's just horrible!" Shaking his head and dropping into the soft black chair, Perry White flipped through the pictures Jimmy had taken earlier in the day of the young girl on his tablet. While he wasn't crazy about the digital revolution, he wasn't a luddite either. Great men evolved with the times, and Perry was certainly trying to keep up. Besides, making all those prints had been much more expensive than scrolling through a digital album.

"Kemp! You're good with a phrase! What'd you got?" Perry never looked up, trying to decide between two shots of the little girl.

"Ken.. er, well, umm.. I'm sure that he has a name already, Mr. White."

Perry swiveled slowly in his chair, looking at the young reporter in the eye. "Well, gosh, perhaps you should just go ask him then, Kemp!"

Kent pointed at himself and swallowed, as if disturbed by the idea. Perry wasn't certian the kid would ever come around at this point. Perry slowly looked up at Lois, who was giving him the glare that he knew meant that he'd have to listen to her complaining about the newest reporter later. She sighed, looked back to her notebook, which had been laying in her lap. she flipped back to a page, and Perry saw the light go off in her eyes.

That's why she was his best reporter. But he would let her try to claw to the top for a while longer before telling her that. But both of them were disturbed as Kent got up and began to walk to the door suddenly.

"Where's the fire, Smallville?"

"Oh, I.. forgot to send the new draft for the LexCorp article to legal for review."

Clark went through the door and as he left Perry looked at Lois and laughed as she wound up to pounce now that they were alone. He raised his large hand to stop her, and simply shrugged.

"Give him time, Lois. He'll find his way."

"Yeah," Lois rolled her eyes as she turned to leave as well, "right about when I die from the ulcer he'll give me. Thanks, Chief."

Lois sat down at her desk, reviewing the layout for her article. The article went to print tonight, and she still needed the title. The thought that came to her mind in Perry's office was still rolling in her head. Rolling up to her desk, she typed in the words, adjusting the font size, and then rolled back, looking at the last part of the work that she had been consumed with for too long. Hopefully now Perry would let her get back to real stories, with real people, who could be interviewed themselves. This chasing a ghost beat was annoying.

Looking around, she asked out loud "Hey, where's Smallville?" Everyone looked around, and no one answered her. His desk was unmanned, and his computer was off. So much for updating his article. She looked back to her article, and after adding the missing name to the appropriate points, released it for Perry to review.

_'Who is Superman?'_

As she leaned back in her chair, Jimmy came running along, turning to her as he went. "Lois, there's a guy going to jump from the Forsyth Building!" Lois sprang to action, grabbing her notebook and keys, catching up with the redhead quickly.

"Let's go, Jimmy. I'm driving."

To his credit, Lois never saw Jimmy make the sign of the cross as he followed her into the elevator. The six minute drive took three with Lois driving, and as the car skidded to a stop at the edge of the police line, Jimmy hopped out and began focusing his camera on the crown, and then up towards the building. Slipping between the police cruisers, she walked up to the small huddle of patrolman watching as their supervisors planned out their response as they waited for the response team to arrive. She knew better than to approach the supervisors, who were too busy to give her anything. But young men liked to act like they knew something when a pretty reporter batter her eyes.

Lois Lane, after all, knew how to work her sources.

-5-

The crowd had swelled beneath Eric as he had stood at the corner. Despite the cool winds off the ocean, he was still sweating buckets. The police were just now arriving, and had begun to push back the curious masses behind quickly set up barricades. Several of his coworkers were watching from the windows, but none had said anything to him yet.

Above him, the news choppers were beginning to circle about the building, making him more nervous as they got closer. He could see the reporters and the cameramen looking at him. Several had come down to hover level with him for a while, transmitting his scared image across the sprawling city. Eric hoped his family never saw this.

The Voice, which had been quiet for so long, suddenly spoke up. "Ok, Eric, it's almost over. Don't worry, you'll see your family soon."

"Oh god... please... " Eric began to cry, his fear and exhaustion finally catching up with him. As the world began to spin around him, the ledge below him exploded, dropping Eric down towards the crowd below. Eric had during the half hour he'd been out on the ledge thought about what the fall would feel like, but he certainly thought it'd be slower. The world was rushing towards him, and he closed his eyes, pictured his family as he fell.

And then gravity seemed to reverse, as his fall slowed and he was gently floating down. Peeking out of his eyelids, Eric could feel the warm hands holding onto his shoulders as he was slowly floating down to the sidewalk. He looked down to the crowd and police as they watched the pair come down, and then slowly back up to the man who was holding him up. The man was smiling gentlely, and said softly "It's ok now, sir."

Eric suddenly remembered how he had ended up on that ledge, and shook suddenly. "No, you don't understand! My family!" As they set down, Eric collapsed as he began to cry.

The voice spoke up now "Eric, your family will be home when you get there, just like I said." Eric's cries softened as he heard this, and grabbed the mans unnaturally red cape, and said "Thank you, thank you!"

The man had watched as the Voice had spoke, bending down to look Eric in the eyes asked to see the earpiece that was still in Eric's ear. Eric, hands shaking, handed the device over to the man who looked at the device. Unlike Eric, he could hear when the Voice started speaking again. "Well hello, Mr. Mystery Man. " The man slowly looked around towards the surrouding buildings.

The police, who had been standing back gingerly walked up to Eric to begin to assess his condition. As they did, the man looked at him, nodded, and looking towards the sky began to take off, slowly turning to scan the crowd as they watching him, the shield reflecting the dusk light as he paused and then flew up and between the skyscrapers, disappearing in the shadows.

As Lois got over her state of awe, she looked to Jimmy, who had been staring as well.

"Tell me you got that."

Jimmy looked down at his camera, as if suddenly remembering that it was there.

Lois sighed, and looked back towards the sky. She turned, looking to get back to the Planet and write this for tomorrows paper, which would tie in perfectly with her just completed magazine article and spotted Clark writing in his own notebook, interviewing a bystander. Leave him to get here in time to get the human interest story, while Lois went for the meat of it. Maybe they could share the reporting, to flesh out the article.

Maybe Perry had been right, she thought as she approached Clark.

-6-

The video of the caped man swooping in and grabbing the falling fat man replayed again on the large screen. There were no other lights in the dark room as the lone man watched the flying man float up, look at the cameras before taking off.

Leaning forward in the large plush chair, he rewound the tape, looking at the frozen image of the brightly dressed man staring at the cameras.

-AN-

Notes: Thanks to Fondycheesehead for catching a rather annoying error.


	4. Interview

'**_I Spent the Night with Superman'_**

_by Lois Lane_

_In the days following the events at the Forsyth Building, every reporter in Metropolis has been working to get an interview with the as of yet media shy mystery man we here at the Daily Planet have come to call Superman. For the past few months, rumors and stories about his actions have been going around Metropolis, which we were the first to break in last weeks _Plant Magazine_ cover article._

_Well, the silence has been broken. I spent the night with Superman, and in an exclusive interview discovered many of the answers to the questions we have been asking for weeks in Metropolis._

Lois shivered in the cool air on the roof of the Daily Planet, her latest cigarette not helping anymore than the five before it. She was going to quit, one day, but it wasn't going to be tonight. Between the cool air, her nerves if this actually worked, and general frustration, she needed the little sticks of cancer. She'd quit tomorrow.

This was the fifth night in a row she'd been up on the roof. Perry first thought that just putting her up there might be enough if he flew by. Lois knew that if that's all it would have taken, she'd have met the man weeks ago, but Lois figured Perry hadn't figured out her newest secret smoking section - yet. So Lois had brought a large sign, and perched herself on the edge of the roof, and waited.

The first night having been a bust, and the second night no better, by the third day she knew the lack of quality sleep was affecting here when Smallville seemed too nervous to come within ten feet of her, which was braver than some of the others in the bullpen, who outright turned and walked away rather than deal with Lois exhausted.

The third night she had fallen asleep by the roof access door, and probably would have been there all night were it not for the Boy Scout Kent, who woke her up and got her to finish her slumber on Perry's couch. To his credit, he didn't mention it on the fourth day, probably fearing for his life. The fourth night she was starting to get desperate. Screams for help didn't have the desired effect, and in fact caused nothing to happen.

Perry was not hearing of giving up. Rumor that the blonde up and coming reporter at the Metropolis Sun had leapt off her paper's building only to be caught by the bungee cord she had attached to the building had spread. So had the reports of her now in the hospital for the stunt, her arm broken in three spots. Lois may be a zealous reporter in covering a story, but she was no idiot.

Finally, Lois decided that playing nice hadn't work. Being patient wasn't getting anywhere. It was time for her step up to her usual system for getting the story she wanted, outright bullheaded determination.

_While Superman was hard to find, this reporter doggedly used every resource available to secure the interview. While at first Superman was unsure about discussing himself with the public, he came to be willing to explain why he is here, and what his plans are._

Stubbing out the last of her cigarette, Lois sighed and hoisted the megaphone up, taking the microphone to her mouth, and exhaled before hitting the button.

"SUPERMAN. I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE. DON'T YOU THINK IT'S TIME TO TELL THE PEOPLE OF METROPOLIS WHY YOU'RE HERE? WHO YOU ARE? I MEAN, COME ON, YOU WEAR A BRIGHT RED CAPE, SO YOU CAN'T BE SHY!"

Looking around the still empty sky above the Planet's globe, Lois sighed.

It was going to be another long night.

"SUPERMAN. YOU KNOW EVERY PAPER IN TOWN IS GOING TO WRITE THIS STORY, WITH OR WITHOUT INPUT. HELL, THERE ARE ALREADY SIX BLOGS PURPORTING TO BE YOU, NOT TO MENTION THAT WEIRD TWITTER ACCOUNT."

Setting the megaphone down, Lois rolled her eyes. "Men." Turning away from the edge of the building and leaning against the parapet, she grabbed her near empty pack of cigarettes and lighter, pulling the next to last cigarette out and flicked her lighter on.

The flame blew out.

Flicking it on again, it again blew out. It wasn't THAT windy up here, Lois thought.

"You know, you really shouldn't smoke, Ms. Lane"

The strong but gentle voice had come out of nowhere right behind her. Lois jumped so fast she knocked the megaphone off the edge of the building, which the man grabbed before it could fall to the ground. That's when Lois realized - he was floating in air. She didn't know why that was what she found surprising, between the stories and seeing him fly last week.

But he was floating there, as if help up on strings.

Leaning out over the parapet, she looked down, and then up at the floating man.

"Ummm... Hi." Lois closed her eyes shut hard. She hadn't stuttered in years. Get it together, Lane she admonished herself. Exhaling softly, she stepped back and motioned for the man to come onto the roof. He floated over softly, landing on the parapet and then stepping down. His red boots, which matched his floor length cape, contrasted with the weathered brown of the old Daily Planet brick. The light that reflected off the spinning globe above made the blue of his outfit almost glow. Lois was struck by how broad his shoulders were, and the confident walk he had as he approached her.

Pulling herself together, she extended her arm out, offering it to the man in front of her.

"Lois Lane. And you are...?"

His easy smile shifted slightly to an almost ... playful grin as he leaned forward and took her hand and replied "I believe you call me Superman." There was an almost familiar twinkle in his eye as he said that.

"You don't have a name of your own?" Lois replied, not letting go of his hand, but arching her eyebrow at him. He smiled back at her, and nodded.

"Yes, I do. But it was the name my birth parents gave to me, and to be honest I hadn't given a lot of thought to what people would call me before your article, Ms. Lane."

"Oh, you read it?" Superman nodded. "What did you think?"

"I was just glad to have been able to help those people, Ms. Lane. That's what I'm here to do, help people."

The initial shock was wearing off, and Lois was feeling back in her element. It could be that he wasn't floating anymore, she mused.

Letting go of his hand, she pulled out her notebook, and began to read over the questions she had prepared already.

"So... you can fly. How do you do that?" Not the first question she had, but it was the only one she had an interest in right now.

Superman smiled, and offered his hand to her again, which she gave him. Pulling her close to him, she looked at first nervous before she let him wrap an arm around her, holding her closely. She suddenly realized how warm he was as he held her. She couldn't believe it, he felt like a living electric blanket.

"What are you doing?" Lois asked. She looked into his bright blue eyes and was transfixed by the sight of them.

Superman smiled at her, and then glanced down. Lois followed his gaze, and realized that they were now floating above the Daily Planet, it's rotating globe several yards below them. She hadn't even realized they had left the ground. The shock of the sudden change sent her scrambling to hold on to Superman for dear life.

"Don't worry, I've got you."

"You got me? WHO'S GOT YOU?"

Rising higher up until the streets and buildings had become lines and grids, they were now floating among the birds and low hanging clouds. Lois looked to her left and saw the ocean beyond, going to for miles to the horizon. The lighthouse on Hobb's Island seemed to small from here.

"I first discovered I could fly when I was eleven. At first it was just jumping, jumping so much farther that I knew I should be able to. And then one day I jumped but didn't come down. With some practice I managed to figure it out." Superman leaned forward as they flew slowly toward the ocean. Lois felt the chill of the cool air as they neared the expanse of water but thankfully didn't feel cold next to the warmth of Superman beside her.

They were going faster now, approaching the spire of the lighthouse having crossed over the bay. As they came over the lighthouse they stopped and hovered above the spire, spinning around to look at the city gleaming across the bay, the lights reflecting in the water before them. They landed softly on the roof, and Superman looked off towards the city, Lois watching him as he seemed to ponder what to say.

"I wasn't born here. My people were on a planet very far away from here. I ... I don't remember being there, I was sent away as a young infant to live here when the planet was facing it's eminent destruction." He paused, looking at Lois before continuing. "I grew up on this planet, and until I was almost an adult, all I knew was this planet. I may be of another planet, but I grew up on Earth. My birth father sent me here to help the people of Earth, to live with you, among you."

"So you're an alien?" Smirking, she cast a look up and down. "Are there any more of you left?"

Superman smiled softly, almost sadly, before shaking his head. "No, they all died when the planet's sun exploded." Closing the distance between them, Lois felt the lighthouse fall away from under her feet as they gained altitude, heading towards the city again.

"So this is what it's like for you everyday? Flying?"

"Well, usually I go a bit faster. I don't want to scare you, Ms. Lane."

"I can handle myself."

-2-

Clark couldn't help but smile as she said that. He knew that once the initial shock wore off the real Lois Lane would show up. In the time he'd been partnered to her, he'd come to respect and like Lois. She was smart, quick, and always sure of herself. To say that the combination hadn't already landed her in a tight spot or two in the little time they'd been together would be astute, but what Clark noticed was that she also got herself out of those jams with the same bullheaded determination she had used to get herself into them.

Leaning forward and pulling her closer, Clark sped up. He knew she had always enjoyed flying, although this was obviously different that any flying she'd ever done before - her father may have taken her on aircraft before, but to be flying without a craft was a wholly different enterprise. Clark had flown occasionally on aircraft after he'd learned to fly and found the experience underwhelming, not to mention the view was dismal. Looking briefly around at the skyline that was fast coming towards them, Clark leaned left, heading towards the skyscrapers of the business district, the LexCorp Spire in the distance.

As they approached the metal and concrete behemoths, Clark lowered so they could fly between the buildings, the late hour making for deserted road below them. Glancing towards Lois, her took in her entranced look on her face as the world fly by, wind in her hair. While she had at many times had a glint of real joy in her eyes at work, usually when questioning the next subject of an explosive article as they squirmed under the glare, this was pure and unabashed joy. Smiling to himself, he turned right, arcing around the massive spire of LexCorp, and heading north up Broadway, back to the Planet.

He knew he couldn't stay too close for too long, and flying was a perfect distraction for Lois. She had more questions, he knew, so he slowed as they flew up the large boulevard, the skyscrapers giving way to the older buildings as they approached downtown and Old Metropolis. Lois, still enthralled at the spectacle of flying, realized she was about to be ditched, he could tell. As they flew back, she began to ask more questions. Some more exploratory than Clark felt comfortable giving the whole truth to, some he gave a clever line to. As they approached the gleaming globe of the Planet, Lois stopped asking questions as she held on to Clarks torso as they began to descend.

As they finally hit the roof gently, her feet stepping back just a step as she caught her bearings on solid ground again, Clark held her arms until she was standing under her own power. He stepped back a footstep, smiled, and slowly lifted off while looking back to Lois.

"Wait!" she said. "Will I see you again?" A rare look of embarrasement at the almost personal manner of the question, she quickly covered. "For a followup interview?"

"I'm always around, Ms. Lane."

Putting his arms up, Clark flew up, and flew off. He knew the danger of letting her know his secret, but at the same time, it's not like he knew he'd be paired with a tenacious star reporter who'd be assigned to his story when he accepted Perry's offer. But the unease of her discovering who he was, or worse, people associating her with 'Superman' was something he would have to watch out for. Flying back to his apartment, Clark decided that worrying about what was done was futile. He'd simply have to be careful.

-3-

_While much of the discussion about Superman's arrival have focused on his intentions, his actions reinforce the statements he made, that while his origin may have been extraterrestrial, his focus is terrestrial, to help._

The article was folded up and placed on the desk next to the still steaming coffee, it's owner standing and looking out over Metropolis, clasping his hands behind his back. The large monitor behind him showing the security camera from his office, the blurry image of the brightly dressed alien holding the reporter as they had flown past in the night.


	5. Boom (Part I)

-1-

"As we see in this exclusive Channel Five clip, Superman rescued the disabled plane as in was inbound for Metropolis International. Reports of malfunctioning equipment are being investigated by the NTSB and FAA. Were it not for Superman's stunning rescue the plane, which had lost power to all engines suddenly while preparing to land, would surely have crashed."

"Wow," Jimmie said as he stared at the television monitor, "is there anything that guy can't do?"

"Yeah, he can't seem to come back for a second interview. I get one interview, and suddenly everyone thinks that I have all the access in the world to him." As Lois wound up for what was to be the third Superman rant of the week, Clark and Jimmie exchanged glances to each other. "If it was up to Perry, I'd be up on that damned roof for the rest of my life until Superman came back. I'm a serious reporter! I've won multiple Pulitzers! Why can't he let me do that?"

Clark was trying to think of the right way to answer, or deflect, her questions, when Lois stood up, grabbing her purse. Huffing, she turned and walked to the elevator, her quick, long paces and loud clacks from her heels letting everyone ahead know to duck for cover. As she reached the door, she punched the up button with far more pressure than it required. Clark figured that the second, third and fourth pushes were also unrequired, but after almost a month working with Lois, he had learned that sometimes she just needed to vent, usually on the roof. At least he couldn't find any lung cancer. Yet.

Perry had goaded her to persue the Superman story, giving other, and according to Lois, better stories to others in the bullpen, while Lois was the reporter for all the Superman news. Perry knew her name and the Superman story would, and had indeed, sold papers. But Lois also knew she was not a one story reporter, and she rankled under the pressure and scrutiny.

In truth, Clark was having a hard time ignoring her on the roof. Flying with her had been one of the best experiences of his life. While he knew he'd had a mild crush on Lois before 'meeting' her as Superman, being with her like that, watching her face as they flew, Clark knew he was in trouble. Keeping Lois out of danger (well, Superman danger, anyways) required that while she may be the most associated reporter following the exploits of Superman, she wasn't personally associated with him.

Looking up, he could see Lois was already starting her second cigarette in remarkable time. She was pacing and muttering things that would possibly make Perry White himself blush, were they not about Perry White. Finally she stopped pacing as her phone started ringing.

"Lois Lane."

"Hey Lois, it's Officer Johnson. You said I should call you if I ever got any more good tips for you?" Clark could hear the almost-lear in Johnson's voice from ten stories down.

Lois rolled her eyes, but smiled, her voice on the phone was sincere, but Clark had learned that when you have a good source, you keep them happy. Lois obviously couldn't stand the man, but her gave her tips regularly; almost as regularly as she avoided him asking her out. "Yes! Definitely. What have you got for me?"

"Well, there's been some talk of some new drug movement through the docks, but nothing has really surfaced for Vice to be able to follow. Anyways, one of my boys at the docks says there's been some weird activity down on pier fourteen, but my LT doesn't wanna bother with it." Johnson gave some more information, which Lois was jotting into her notes as fast as he was rambling it.

"So, anyways, Lois, I was thinking maybe later we could ge.."

"Listen, Mik.. Officer Johnson, I really appreciate this. I'll look into it, but my boss is coming and I'll have to catch up with you for the rest, ok?"

"Yeah, definitely call me back! You got my number?"

"Oh yeah, I got your number." Lois's grin was much less feigned as she replied. Clark had seen him giver his number several times, and every time the card was quickly lost. Ending the call, Lois threw her notebook and cigarrettes into her purse and headed for the elevator.

-2-

Mark Smith, Smitty, was just getting to work for the night shift. It wasn't too bad, stand outside the courthouse, make sure no one caused problems. Most people would think that it'd be a boring job, but a fair amount of it was interacting with people - directions, questions, the like. And sometimes there was the scuffles, which was briefly exciting. But it was a decent job, paid well enough, and he liked it.

He'd been at it long enough to know about half of the people who came through the doors, the lawyers, judges, etc. There were the short term regulars, jury members, press, and serial offenders. Hell, some of those he'd gotten to know very well, almost as well as their lawyers.

And then there was the rest of the people, in for traffic tickets, court cases, marriage licences, and of course, divorce court. Smitty liked to try to guess what they were coming in for, the marriage ones were gimmies. Sometimes he had to change his mind after seeing some people leave. But he had seen so many people come and go that people watching was second nature to him.

So when he saw the blonde with a backpack, he knew something was wrong. A lot of people go the Courthouse but don't want to be there, but her eyes screamed that she really, really didn't want to be where she was. The look of terror and fear on her face was visible to him from across the steps of the Courthouse. Stepping away from his spot, he let his partner know what he saw and then causually as he could approached her.

The closer he got, the more upset she became, finally stopping his forward gait as he got within five feet of her. She stopped for a second, as if to listen to something, and Smitty finally noticed the device in her ear.

"He says if you alert anyone, he'll kill us both." Her words were steady but rushed, the adrenaline already wearing her body out. "He says I have to wait for the drop off on the stairs. Please, please don't do anything. He .. he has my children." The single tear slid down her cheek, and Smitty nodded.

His mind was scrambling. What does he do now?

Walking up the steps, his partner asked if everything was ok.

"Yeah, everything's good. Just a Code 8." Smitty had never felt so nervous as he used the never used signal, looking into his partners eyes and hoping he'd remember the training. Nodding, he signaled inside. "Ok, then I'm just gonna take a leak. Be back in five."

"Okay." Smitty was watching the blonde, who was standing on the steps to the courthouse, wondering what was going to happen. Looking at his watch, he saw it was only 3:15.

It was already going to be a long night.

-3-

Sneaking along the tall stacks of crates and boxes, Lois was glad she had traded her heels in for the quieter sneakers before she left her car. Creeping around dangerous places had become part of her trademark investigative journalism, no matter how much Perry had insisted she stop. Of course, when she won her second Pulitzer in five years for doing, to quote the Chief, 'stupid god-forsaken' stunts, he hadn't suggested she not accept.

Even with her long history of getting out of shifty places with her story, the adrenaline had never stopped every time she got into one, and her heart was racing as she made her way down the high stacks of cargo containers towards the central warehouse for Dock Fourteen. The bright sun created long shadows behind them, and Lois kept to them as much as possible as she neared the large side door, which sat ajar with the inside unlit and dark.

Grabbing her flashlight from her purse, Lois slipped into the quiet warehouse, the inside seeming cavernous. The light from the outside and the few ventalation windows spared Lois from having to use her light any sooner than nessicarry, but left her unable see much farther than a couple of yards away. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized why the warehouse seemed so empty: in the center of the large building sat a single shipping container. Otherwise, the warehouse was empty. Walking up to the container, she could see it was labeled, but couldnt make out the words in the darkness, so raising the light, she clicked it on, shining the bright light on the side of the container.

'LexCorp Meteor Research Project

'Caution: Authorized Personnel Only

So focoused on the new mystery of the container she, although later would never admit it, screamed when the voice behind her sounded.

"You're not supposed to be here, Ms. Lane."

Across town, Clark's head turned as he heard the scream. Standing, he headed to the stair access across the bullpen.

-4-

Clark had quickly gotten airborne, heading for the docks when the sound came from downtown, an explosion that had in turn set off a large fire. Stopping, he looked back at the site, where there were people running and some trying to help the ones on fire. Looking back to Lois, he turned and headed towards the fire.

The blast site itself was small, but the fire it had spread was considerable. As he flew closer, Clark could see the accelerant that had been in the bomb and realized with horror that the bomb had been designed not to cause a large explosion, but to spread a large fireball in a very crowded part of Downtown district. Whoever had set this explosion had meant to hurt a lot of people.

Hovering over the pyre, Clark inhaled and then blew out the fires. People stopped running and screaming to look up at the man above them, cape billowing in the wind of the warm day. Surveying and triaging the victims, Clark quickly grabbed the worst burned, and teen boy of about 14 or 15, and with as much care as he could considering the boys wounds picked him up and flew into the sky, flying as fast as he felt safe towards MetGeneral.

He was in the middle of the last of the serious cases when he heard the high pitch squeal come from the ancient emergency response PA speakers. Dropping off the final victim, he flew upwards again, not noticing the onlooking nurses and doctors, as he tried to pinpoint the source of the sound. Floating, he slowly circled, focousing on the five speakers that were making the noise. As he stared at them, the sound stopped, and in it's place came a voice.

"Hello, Superman. Judging by your reaction, you CAN hear me. That's good. So we're going to play a game. I have four more fun bags left around the city. Can you find them all before they go off? I've laid some serious money down that you can't, and I'd hate to have to pay up. But you have a big supporter, who thinks you can do it, and since he pays the bills, well, I guess we'll see how right he is."

Clark closed his eyes as the Voice talked, mentally seperating out the six sources of the voice being broadcast. Finally focusing on the weakest one, he opened his eyes, looking towards the dilapadated brick building four blocks away, he could see the man speaking into the microphone grin as he looked out the window at Clark.

"Ah, yes, you found me. Well, fair enough, but I got to tell you, the first of those bombs is going to go off in five seconds, and then rest every fifteen seconds until they're all gone. So ... you going to get me, or save all the innocents out there? Tick tock."


	6. Collapse (Part II)

-1-

Smitty had crouched when the explosion had gone off, along with most people on the stairs. The sound had come from just a few blocks away, and the smoke was now billowing above the short buildings of downtown. Stepping down a step to see the smoke trail better, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Hearing a woman crying, he turned his head to see the woman with the backpack looking up at the skyline, a look of sheer panic on her face. Cold sweat rolled down Smitty's back as he realized what the distraught woman had obviously figured out: she had a bomb on her back as well. Stepping down another step, he turned to face the woman. She meet his eyes and he could see the tears roll down her cheeks.

"Everyone, please clear the stairs. Everyone please clear!" Smitty was now waving people away, hoping he could save someone, and silently praying he'd make it out this alive. As people scrambled to clear the stairs, the blonde woman stood still, which made her stand out as she was being avoided by people moving down the stairs quickly.

When the next explosion happened, he dropped to the ground, and the sound of the blonde woman's scream filled the air.

-2-

After The Voice had stopped speaking, Clark had flown up above the city, closing his eyes and listening to the sounds of the city. Filtering out the traffic and voices, he focused on the heartbeats. He could hear them all, most were going normal, and many were going fast. Quickly trying to sort them out, he ruled out the woman jogging in the park, the couple having a private moment, and most of the other benign but racing heartbeats.

Then he heard the heartbeat that was racing, but erratically, as the over adrenalined body tried to keep up. Looking down as he began to fly at almost supersonic speed towards the man, who was drenched in sweat as he stood in front of the busy outdoor cafe, with people talking and pointing towards where the first explosion had happened only minutes ago. Many were still looking at their phones, trying to find out what had happened. Slowing as he reached the ground, Clark grabbed the backpack off of the man, and with a push off quickly launched into the sky. Clark heard many people trying to turn those phone around to get a picture of what he assumed they saw only as a red blur. Reaching back, Clark threw the bag away as it explodes, the liquid fire of the ignited propellant falling out toward the bay.

Now having seen what the bombs looked like, Clark circles as he float up, trying to quickly scan the city streets for another one. At this point the heartbeats of most of the people in the area was raised and erratic as they tried to figure out where the explosions were coming from, and what was causing it, making it near impossible to hear any one that was suspicious. Finally he was almost out of time as he heard the next backpack prepare to arm. Turning, he launched at it, the sonic boom shaking several of the buildings he had been over, a few windows shattering as he passed by. Clark had never wanted to fly this fast in the heart of the city, but at this point he had little choice.

Trying to land without crashing into the pavement, Clark grabbed the pack off the teen girl, who looked at him in an odd mixture of relief and excitement, watching as he turns and throws the bag into the sky. It quickly became a small blue dot as it rose into the air, before exploding in a bright ball of fire as the propellant within caught fire and expanded before falling towards the ground. Taking off towards the falling conflagration, he blew at the blaze, spreading the fire and smothering it out.

-3-

Lois was perfectly used to men underestimating her; often she used it to her advantage. So as she was being held by the large handed man, she certainly didn't give him any reason for him to think she was anything other than a damsel in distress. Goon One, who was obviously the brains of the operation between the two, was making a phone call while Goon Two held her in place. Both men had handguns out, One's pointed in her direction, Two's in the hand not holding her arm, hanging at his side. Lois opined to herself that Two didn't seem to think a 'little woman' like her was going to be any threat. Standing 5'8" herself without her heels, Bald Two still towered over her.

As One began to speak on his phone, Two was obviously watching what One was getting told on the phone. One turned and began to whisper, perhaps trying to argue against what he was being told, Lois would guess. Two was now watching intently as One continued his stressed by quiet argument, and sensing Two's distraction, Lois raised her foot up, and jammed her heel directly into the foot of the large bald man, causing him to stagger into her direction. Using his momentum, Lois turned in Two's grip, using all the self-defense training her Dad had made sure his daughters possessed before the age of fourteen, and rammed her knee square into the hobbled man's groin. He fell to his knees, and raising up her leg again, shoved her knee into the side of Two's head. He fell with a heavy thump as One was now turning to see the larger man was now out cold. One raised his gun, not expecting the already swinging purse, which slammed into his gun hand, causing the weapon to go off as it was being knocked away, the bullet ricocheting in the large warehouse.

Lois stepped back, allowing the now torn purse to fall to her feet. The impact had made One step back as well, but now that he was unarmed, he was obviously not wanting to wait for Lois to go on the offensive, and he started towards her.

The sound of Two's gun having a round chambered in Lois's hand caused a look of surprise to cross his face, and the barrel being pointed in his face made him stop short.

"Now," Lois said with a firm voice, "what's in the box?"

-4-

Smitty had slowly approached the woman, who had at this point become almost hysterical, with each of the explosions, her fear had risen.

"Ma'am, why don't you take that bag off? Just put it down, and come over here." Smitty's voice was as calm as be could manage, his heart was beating almost out of his chest.

"No," the woman shrieked, "he has my kids. I can't ... " she started sobbing again. "I have to do this for them. I can't .. I can't let them down."

Smitty opened his mouth to talk, when a gust of wind blew him back onto the stairs. Moving to get up, all he could see was the billowing red cape of the man now standing next to the woman, who was looking at the brightly dressed man as he slid the backpack off of the now silent women. He could hear people on the street who had been watching pointing and talking, and a few were trying to get a picture of the Superman.

Holding the bag in his right hand, the man who Smitty's son had read every article obsessively reached up with his left, and launched into the sky as if he had pulled himself up with his left arm as it came to rest beside his body as he flew off, a red streak and the rush of wind being the only evidence of his presence there on the steps. The clouds that he'd flown into glowed orange as the bomb went off, the fire falling down and going out as it fell. The onlookers on the street were now pointing into the sky, taking pictures and clapping as Superman flew over them and headed towards other parts of the city.

Smitty held the blond woman, now quiet as she looked into the sky, looking for a sign of the man who had saved her life. Her eyes were red, and the streaks of liquid from her tears still glistened in the bright light of the afternoon sun. She jumped as her phone rang, and answering it, a timid and exhausted hello, she listened for a minute and smiled, then began crying as the voices in her phone carried in the stillness of the stairs.

She looked at Smitty, smiling as she spoke. "They're ok. They're ok, my kids." She exhaled slowly, smiling and looking again skyward, the sun glinting into her hair as the afternoon sun as she whispers softly "Thank you, Superman. Thank You"

-5-

Having found the last bomb barely in time, Clark was still putting out the last of the propellant that had landed on him. Coming down he scanned the city, trying to see if the Voice had been truthful when he said there were only five bombs. After the rush of trying to find them, Clark was rushing trying to find another bomb, hoping to spare anyone else from the horror if those bombs. As he was scanning, The Voice again took to the air, this time only from one speaker.

"Well, well. I have to say, I'm impressed Big Blue. I really didn't think you'd find them all in time. Well done."

Clark descends, heading towards the derelict building he had glimpsed the man in before. Approaching it, he sees it's empty. Pausing in air, he turns, searching, listening.

"It's been a .. blast, Superman, but out game is over for today. I'll be seeing you soon."

Clark tries to find the Voice in the background of voices, but couldn't. Looking the building over once more, he lifts up, heading north and towards the docks. Lois's heartbeat was elevated, but not in distress. As he came closer, he realised while he could hear her heartbeat, and her voice, he couldn't make her out. The warehouse where she was in was made with a lead lining, Clark realized. Slowing as he approached, he tried to be careful about entering, he was far too accustomed to seeing the whole situation before entering. As he landed outside the side door that sat open, he finally could see Lois, who was holding two men at gunpoint. One was holding his head while laying on the floor, suffering from Clark could easily see was a concussion. The other was opening the cargo container at Lois's behest, but Clark could tell he was very nervous about opening it.

Stepping forward, Clark gently cleared his throat so as not to spook Lois while she had a man at gunpoint. "Ms. Lane, is everything alright here?" Clark noticed her sholders tensed, but Lois didn't turn to look at him.

"I'm doing great, Superman. I think I've stumbled onto my biggest story yet. These men were just telling me about LexCorp's plans to use these meteor rocks to weaponize high strength lasers. At least, my money is on lasers." Tipping the pistol at the man on his feet, she continued "Genius there called it a raygun, so obviously somemore research is going to be done."

Clark stepped forward towards the now ajar container door, the standing man stepping away to give Superman room. Clark swung the door of the container open, and for the first time he could remember felt pain burn through every exposed pore of his skin. Unable to handle the sudden sensory overload, he faltered to one knee. As he fell, the two men stepped back from Clark and the door, and with Lois's attention on him, Clark watched as they ran (Lois would point out later that one had merely hobbled) away, powerless to do anything to stop them.

He'd never experienced pain, at least not physically. He thought of his Dad, the pain that he'd felt when he watched powerless to stop the heart attack that had ultimately killed him. Before today, that was the closest to pain Clark had ever felt. He saw his fathers face in his mind, and tried to apologize for not being more careful, but even that was proving to be too much.

Clark tried to catch his breathe, but he couldn't do anything but fall to the ground, his arms catching him as he tried to stay up, until even his arms betrayed him, and Clark collapsed to the cold concrete. The world around him was going dark in the already dim light of the warehouse. The last thing he saw was Lois's sneakers as they approached him, her voice nothing but a far away mumble as the world went dark.

-6-

Lois had been expecting any number of things Superman would have done, but she couldn't have believed that he would collapse when the door opened. Once he fell all the way to the floor, Lois shook herself out of her shock, and ran towards him, rolling him onto his back. She remembered when he had taken her flying how warm he was, even on a cool night. But now the mystery man was almost cold to the touch. She couldn't tell if he was even breathing. What scared he the most was the sight of his blood on the concrete from where his head had struck the ground. Superman had caught cars, bounced bullets off his chest, he flew for gods sake. How could he be bleeding? What could cause this to happen?

As if to answer her question, the heavy metal door of the container moaned as it slid open another inch. Lois stared into the container as she could just make out the lumps of rocks inside small crates, flecks of bright green shining in the sunlight. Except Lois realized, there was no sunlight hitting the rocks - they were glowing on their own. Realizing the story would have to wait, she slammed the door shut, latching it closed. Coming around the prone form of the mysterious stranger, she pushed him up until she could grasp her hands under his shoulders. His body was an exceptionally heavy dead weight as she began to slowly move him away from the container.

It had taken five minutes and three falls to get him to the door, and Lois was exhausted and sweaty. Finally she drug his muscular form out of the warehouse, getting to the closet container and leaning him against the side, sunlight now shining off his suit. Lois looked around trying to figure what to do. She thought of calling an ambulance, but didn't know what they might be able to do. But now he was still out and she was running out of ideas. She raised her phone and prepared to dial when Superman's weak hand grabbed her phone hand, and quietly said "That will be .. un nessicary.. .. Ms. Lane"

A wide smile erupted on Lois's face as he opened his eyes, still looking weak, but now awake and in control of his faculties. He leaned his head back, closing his eyes, almost basking in the sunlight as he slowly smiled. "I almost didn't think I was ... going to make it out of there. Thank you for saving me, Ms. Lane."

Lois nodded, sitting down by the weakened man. "Your welcome, although you do realize this means you owe me another interview. Life debt, and all that." Turning her head to look at Superman, she smirked with a glint in her eye, and the seemingly resurgent Superman grinned back at her.

"I guess it does. Your place or mine?"

"Oh, well, of course yours." Lois laughed at his lighthearted but near flirtacious reply from the usually staid superhero. It'd be almost like Clark being aggressive, she thought about the almost out of character remark from the man in blue. Clark was never going to believe this, as it was. Lois wondered if he was still in the bullpen, retyping that story a third time. Shaking her head, she realized she knew something that no one else did.

Growing serious, she looked to Superman, who was again basking in the sunlight and asked her question. "So, what was that back there? I thought you were, I don't know, a man of steel or something."

Superman opened his eyes, looking towards the container beyond the door of the warehouse. Quietly, he replied "I don't know. I've never encountered that before, or had that experience." He slowly stood up, obviously feeling stronger but still moving slowly as he began to walk away from the shadows and into the sun, holding his arms to his side to absorb it all. Standing straight he finally seemed like he was able to stand on his own completely again.

"I won't tell anyone."

"I know" Superman said softly as he lifted off from the ground a few feet as he continued to face the sun, his body casting a shadow on the ground, Lois no longer able to see much of him except the light going around his body as he floated there.

"Will you be alright, Superman?"

He pivoted in air, half his face bathed in shadows as he looked towards Lois and smiled. "I will be now, thanks to you, Lois."

Hearing him call her by her first name made her look up and closer at his face. There was something familiar to the way the shadows fell on his face, and Lois had this sense of deja vu that she couldn't place. Nodding towards her, he took off into the sky slowly, heading up towards the clouds.

The memory was just beyond her reach for most of the walk to her car. Something about the light on his face, her name. But she had only met him once, and outside of TV had only seen him in action the one other time. Starting her car she drove him, too tired and confused to be bothered with writing a story about Superman's exploits at the docks, and having nowhere near enough information to even start the LexCorp weapon story.

-7-

Later that night in her apartment, she was watching the coverage of Superman stopping the deranged bomber on the evening news. All of the survivors talked about how he, in a matter of minutes stopped the four bombs that would have hurt dozens of people. Lois couldn't help but be amazed that this seemingly invulnerable person had been so easily taken down by some silly glowing rocks.

Her phone began to ring, but she was literally sore everywhere, mostly from carrying Metropolis's hero halfway across a giant freakin' warehouse. Choosing to ignore it, Lois took another drink of her wine, and snuggled down into her covers as the video of Superman streaking into the sky before the bomb he was holding exploded.

"Hey, ummm Lois, it's Clark." The answering machine had finally picked up. "Perry wanted me to call and check in with you, since you never picked up your stuff from your desk after going to that story on the docks. Anyways, I'll see you next week, I'm have a cold and I'm taking Friday off. Let me know if you're ok, Lois, and if you need anything." Clark pauses, then finishes, "Ok, well, I'll see you later, Lois. Good Night."

Placing her wine glass down hard, she jumps from the couch and rewinds the recording.

_"... I'll see you later, Lois."_

Rewind.

_ "...Lois."_

The memory came at her like the video Superman had flown, a sudden flash.

_"Do you think he's out there right now? Saving someone else?"_

_Clark stood with her for another minute, then slowly turned allowing the sunlight to bathe his face in long shadows, waiting for her to catch up._

_"You know Lois, I'm sure he's around. It sounds like you never know when, ah ... he will show up." _

Rewinding it again, she played the message again, halfway through rewinds again.

_"...since you never picked up your stuff from your desk after going to that story on the docks..."_

The silence in her head was deadly as she felt so many puzzle parts floating about in her head. How did Clark know she had gone to the docks? Why had she thought of that moment with Clark when she was with Superman today? Had Clark and Superman been in contact?

Lois slowly sat down on her couch again, the images of Superman now going back to stock footage of his early exploits. Pausing her DVR, she leans forwards, staring at the screen, realization crossing her face as all the pieces fit suddenly.

"Son. Of. A. Bitch."

-8-

"Sir, there was a break in today at the docks. It was just after Superman saved all those people from those terrorists."

Lex Luthor looked up from the reports he was reading, and glared at his assistant.

"I assume you're telling me this for reasons beyond a simple security report?" His cold eyes looking back to the fashionably dressed blonde, who took his glare with ease.

"Because, you should see this." She walked over to the wall monitor and inserted a disc. Hitting play, the ultraviolet camera recording showed the inside of the massive warehouse of Dock 14, it's lone container in the center of the screen. Lacing his fingers into each other, Lex watched calmly as the video showed the two guards get taken by that annoying reporter from the Planet. As she walks them back to the container, one of them begins to open the door when a fourth person enters the frame. Luthor leans forward now, his attention riveted to the screen.

Watching as the so-called Superman approaches the container, opens it up, and then ...

Collapses.

Luthor leans back in his chair, his hands templed in front of him, watching as the brightly dressed man is dragged away by the reporter.

As the video ends, Luthor stands and walks to the wall of windows that overlooks the skyscrapers of Metropolis, the lights reflecting in his eyes as he stares out.

"Find out who is in charge of that project. I want to know eveything that was in that container. And I want it now."


	7. Truth

-1-

Sitting on the roof of the Planet, Lois was the epitome of calm, cool, and collected. It had been a week since the incident at the docks, and the entire week had been consumed with one question in her mind: Could Clark Kent and Superman be one in the same? She had spent the entire night of her revelation trying to figure out how someone like Clark could be Superman. When she had seen Clark again on Monday, she felt silly for the thought, as he came in with donuts that he almost dropped four times between the elevator and the breakroom. And he was always working - at his desk, making calls, checking sources, then rushing off to check on a story.

It wasn't until Wednesday that Lois noticed that when Clark had 'run to the bathroom' a few minutes prior, she looked up to see live footage from New York as Superman was stopping a building crane from falling from the skyscraper it had been building. A glance to his desk confirmed Clark wasn't there, and a glance around the newsroom confirmed to Lois that no one was watching her as she got up. With quick, confident steps, she marched into the men's restroom, and not seeing anyone, she checked the stalls, which were all empty.

Marching back to her desk, she was grinning like a cat who had just ate the canary, right up to the moment she realized Clark was sitting at his desk. Stopping in her tracks, she stared agape at Clark as he sat at his desk, who stopped typing to look up at her, before looking behind him, and then back to Lois. Raising his eyebrows in question, he waited for Lois's moment to pass. She turned to look at the TV, which was now playing a repeat of Superman hoisting the crane up in the air, it's massive frame looming over the crowded street. From another angle a news chopper had filmed, you could see the bus below that would have been pancaked were it not for ... Clark? The very idea in her brain made her face twitch as she looked back at him.

Not possessing the ability to form a sentence, Lois straighted up, turned on her heel and went to the roof, her cigarette and the skyline a calming place away from the mystery she was trying to solve.

-2-

"Lois, why are you still working on that LexCorp conspiracy article? There's no way a respected paper like The Planet will publish that!" Throwing up his hands, Perry dropped into his chair and glared at Lois. Lois, for her part, glared back, arms crossed. She had been expecting this for a few days now. The Superman articles were getting generic according to Perry - " 'Superman Saves the Day' can only be said interestingly so many times!" was the exact wording he had used. The awkwardness between Clark and Lois had become almost palpable, and the lack of new, interesting sources into the strange alien visitor had caused Perry to push his ace reporter harder. Which now meant that he was trying to kill the story about whatever was happening at the LexCorp warehouse.

Not that Lois was any closer on that front, either.

Her frustration at the inability to resolve the Superman/Clark Kent paradox had caused her to pull back from her partner, which made their forced partnership that much more difficult for Lois to handle.

Speaking of Smallville, his trademark gentle cough before treading into crossing Lois made her roll her eyes and turn her head to glare at him.

"Well Lois, you know, whatever Mr. Luthor has at the docks is dangerous. Maybe you should just let the police know, so they can handle it?"

"Since when have I let the inept police force this city calls law enforcement beat me to a story, Perry? This is a big story! Since when does LexCorp mess with weapons, or lasers for that matter?" Seeing that Perry was having none of it, she sighed, and tried her best version of tact. "Look, Perry, if and when the next big Superman story is up, I'm sure Clark can handle it just fine. Right, Smallville?"

Clark looked at Lois, before looking over to Perry, his face awash in uncertainty.

"Lois!" Perry's deep voice probably shook the glass as he yelled, standing to walk around his desk. "You, this paper, and Superman have become synonymous! I'm not going to mess with that formula while it's working! Now go, find something I can print!" Stopping to point at Clark, Perry continued, "And take him with you! Whatever your problem is, work it out!"

Marching out of Perry's office at a strong clip, Lois barrelled through the bullpen toward the elevator, tired of dealing with the large number of annoying men for the time being. Punching the up button repeatedly until it finally relented and opened the door, she pushed the top button, then slapped the door close button. Once the doors closed, Lois gave herself a second to relax against the wall of the elevator as it took it skyward.

Walking out of the stairwell onto the roof, she reached for her cigarrettes, which she realized were not with her, but on her desk. With Perry.

And Clark.

Because her day was going so well already, she mused. Screw it, she thought, good enough day to quit as any. Walking up to the parapet, she leaned onto it and looked out into the skyline, the early afternoon sun causing her to squint just slightly as she watched the city below go on with thier day. She flashed back to that one perfect night, flying in the sky with Superman.

...Clark?

Closing her eyes at hittig that mental road block again, she sighed as she put her head in her hands, slowly exhaling as her stress abated only slightly. To say that she almost jumped off the roof at the sound of his voice, so close, would be something that Lois would argue with her last breath; however true it may have been.

"Lois, are you alright?"

Standing with her hands now on the edge of the building, the shock having made her stand upright, Lois dawned on the thought as her heart calmed from it's sudden rush that she couldn't tell for certain whose voice had said it - Clark's, or Superman's. Does that mean she's right - or is she just going nuts?

Turning around, she took in the sight of the man standing in front of her. The light hitting his face made indescision useless, and deciding to trust her gut feeling, she straighted her back into her most confident pose as she stalked towards him. Looking him right in the eyes, she reached out slowly to take hold of Clark's glasses. As her fingers touched them, his hands fell upon hers, stopping her from removing them.

"Lois," Clark looked confused as he returned her stare, "what are you doing? Are you ok?"

Lois tilted her head slightly askance, but kept the eyelock on her confused partner as she slowly pulled at his glasses, his warm hands slowing her but not stopping her. Once removed, she took the glasses in her hands, folding them and placing them in Clark's jacket pocket.

Having her subconcious feelings confirmed brought equal feelings of elation at being right, and realizing that she was standing in front of Superman. Taking in that thought, she broke eye contact, eyes going skywards over his shoulder as the idea that she had been with Superman, while writing a story about Superman, with her partner who was Superman. Eyes connecting with his again, she smacked him in the shoulder as hard as she was willing to attempt against someone who reflected bullets.

"I saved your life, and helped you on how many articles, the least you could have done was be HONEST!" Throwing her hands up in the air, she spun and walked back to the edge of the building, looking out towards the docks, where she had watched him fall to the ground. "I mean, what is your real name?! Where do you actually come from? Who. Are. You?!" Turning her head to glare at him, she considered the wierd dichotomy of yelling at Superman in Clark Kent's clothes.

Superman, Clark, ... Superman - Lois was having proper name issues in her head, she realized - for his part stood there, calmly watching her with his bold blue eyes. They stared at each other for several minutes, both having a million thoughts going on in their head.

Inhaling, and then letting the breath out slowly, Superman nodded, then walked slowly towards her, until they were within arms reach.

"Do you have a warm coat?"

-3-

Unzipping her parka, Lois gawked around her as she took in the massive crystals that reached into the sky, the warmth of the strange, alien even, place a stark contrast to the bitter cold that they had just come from. It was well lit, although where the light came from Lois was not sure, it seemed to be coming from all over, with no shadows being cast. Stepping gingerly down the steps, she couldn't help but marvel at the structure, what Superman had called his "Fortress of Solitude". She could easily see why he called it that, for while it was warm and large, it was also still and quiet.

"Wow, this place is ... nice." Her smirk the only hit of the understatement she had intended, but Superman's gentle smile in return was evidence he understood what she had really meant.

"This is the last repository of the knowledge of my people, a gift from my birth father. It's where I learned all that I know about my people, and why my parents sent me here." Stepping up the console in the center of the chamber, Superman pushed a spiked crystal down, and in front of them appeared a image of a man, who looked not unlike Superman, in a robe with the same 'S' on his chest.

"They can be a great people, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you... my only son."

"My birth father sent me to help the people of this planet, just as our planet was dying. I arrived as an infant here on Earth. My name is Clark Kent, and I'm from Smallville, Lois. You asked who I was, and that's who I am." Stepping away from the console, he walked towards her, cape gently billowing in his wake.

"I never lied to you, Lois. This is who I am, I'm an alien who grew up in Kansas. Superman is me, and I am Clark Kent. But Superman could never live a normal life, and my mother and friends would be in danger from those who would hold back the people of Earth for their own gain. It would put you at risk everyday if the world knew."

"I don't know if you've missed this, Su.. Cla.. Smallville, but I'm doing a perfectly fine job of getting myself in danger without you having a guilt trip over it." Walking up to the side of the console, her hand hovered over the side of it, taking in the serene beauty of the crystals that glowed softly. "Although you realize this puts that article you wrote on the Immigration bill in a whole new context? I mean, you're the illegal alien writing about a bill that would attempt to crack down on illegal immigration?"

The Super-smirk was back as he held his hand out to her. "Why do you think I'm such an advocate for the Dream Act?" The line had it's effect, as Lois rolled her eyes and laughed softly while taking his hand. "Ready to go home, Ms. Lane?"

Lois took in the bright palace, closed her eyes to bask in the silence. "Yeah ... but next time can we find a warmer way to get up here?"

-4-

Sitting at home that night, Lois watched the nightly news about the amazing rescue Superman had made in Argentina earlier, saving a city from a mudslide that threatened to wipe out the slums completely. To say that the day had been exhausting would be an understatement, but she had learned so much, and thankfully, had a new article for Perry on Superman, his latest statement to the press about what he was doing. Considering that she had made him write slightly more than half of the article, Lois felt almost guilty for taking the whole byline.

Almost.


End file.
